Questions Underestimated Explains Subjugated Teenager
by Maeve Moonstone
Summary: Codename: Kids Next Door, Operation: Q.U.E.S.T. Incoming transmission: Everybody knows that the Kids Next Door fight against anyone over the age of thirteen in order to gain natural human rights. But what happens when a teenager who is found unconscious in the Moonbase makes them question their methods?
1. Chapter 1

My name is Anna McStone. I'm tall. I have brown eyes and short brown hair. I'm fourteen years old. I like to draw. I want to make cartoons for kids when I grow up-tell them my stories and teach them how to be better than the last generation.

Which makes it really confusing, since I'm currently tied and gagged to a chair in a prison cell with a pair of them standing guard. Well, sleeping, really, but I could tell from their makeshift armor that they were supposed to be guarding me. Kids, I mean. Not stories.

I don't know what happened. One minute, I'm eating cereal in the kitchen, the next, I'm here. I decide to look around. There's a weird poster on the wall beside me - it looks like the surface of the moon, but with these weird red plant thingys hanging down. I examine it, though, to sketch down when I get my bag back. It really looks cool. The artist had to be a master when it came to shading - it looked so real, as if it wasn't a poster at all, but a window to an entirely different universe.

A door opens, and I snap my head around. A red-haired little girl wearing a strainer on her head and a scowl on her face was talking to a blonde girl who held an air of maturity around herself that made me want to call her a woman despite her age. I couldn't help but lean forwards a little as their conversation reached my ears.

"- found her unconscious in the middle of one of the main hallways. She doesn't seem to be much of a threat, but I locked her up just in case."

"Eye. Teenagers-ya can't trust em'. Might be a spy, tryin' to catch us defenceless by making' herself seem like a weenie. Did ja' have her battle ready armor removed?"

"No. Oddly enough, she wasn't wearing any battle ready armor. Just this weird tank top thingy. She did have a purse, though-we're having a couple of the boys from sector H go through it for potential weaponry."

"Oy! No girls checkin' it out?"

"No. The girls from sector H are having a bit of a spa day- girls night out, ya know? I think they deserve a bit of a break after the whole water park incident."

"Eye. That they do. SOLDIERS!"

The two boys who were supposed to be guarding me jerked awake, accidentally hitting their heads against the bars to my little prison. I flinched. That had to hurt. The blonde girl nodded curtly to the two boys standing guard.

" Good evening, gentlemen. I assume our prisoner hasn't been any trouble?"

"Uhhh..."

The dark skinned guard elbowed his light-haired companion, who was still obviously trying to wake up from his nap despite the rude awakening.

"She hasn't been any trouble at all. She's unconscious, remember?"

The dark skinned guard slapped his face.

"She knows that, you dolt. Try to be a little less of a dummy, she's our leader!"

"... the prisoner's our leader?"

This time, the dark skinned guard slapped his companion's head rather than his own face.

"Owww..."

"I apologize for numbah 34. He's new."

"I thought my name was Cody..."

Dark skinned guard hit Cody again. Blonde girl cleared her throat while red head glared at the two boys. All three stood to attention with a respect I have rarely seen even amongst my own peers...which isn't saying much, but considering these were tweens, still a remarkable feat.

"Numbah 32, numbah 86 and I were wondering if our prisoner was ready for interrogation."

The dark skinned guard-numbah 32- glanced back at me, and nodded to blonde girl.

" She seems fully conscious. Go ahead."

Numbah 32 took out a large key ring and unlocked my prison, holding open the door for the two girls. Cody came in and untied me from the chair, keeping the bonds around my hands and the gag in my mouth in place. I stood up and stretched a little, smiling at Cody through the gag to show my gratitude. I may have been a prisoner, but I would treat these children who didn't act like children as though they were my hosts and I were their guest. I could only hope to save them from whatever gang that they had gotten themselves involved with. But that would take patience. For now, I followed the blonde girl who seemed like a woman while the young red haired Scottish general followed me with a weird gun pointed at my back. We walked down the hall towards the door, and I glanced back, lifting my bound hands to wave at the kind boys who watched over me while I slept. I was met with confused gazes before the red haired girl shoved the gun in my back and told me to keep moving. So I turned my head to see in front of me...

And was met with an unbelievable sight.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi. My name is Anna McStone. I'm fourteen years old and am currently the prisoner of what appears to be a gang composed mainly of children, although I suspect that an adult must be somehow controlling them, because there is no way kids can organize THIS. But there is not a single adult to be found as a red haired girl and a blonde girl who has the maturity of a woman lead me down a suspended walkway in the midst of a huge, seemingly endless building full of children carrying papers, manning computers, building weaponry, playing games, eating snacks, training, and even taking tours all around us. My head swivels all around me as I try to take it all in all the chaos. I can hear the red head scoff behind me, while the blonde gains a small grin. As if my wonder is amusing. I don't care, though. It's amazing.

Unfortunately, we had to step into a small white room with only a table and a couple of chairs, along with some crude security cameras. The two girls lead me over to sit down in one of the chairs, and removed my gag before moving to sit in their own seats across from me. I had so many questions, but for some reason my mouth wouldn't form the words.

Eventually, the blonde cleared her throat and looked me in the eye.

"So, teenager - why don't we start with the basics. What's your name?"

Suddenly, I could speak again, but only to stupidly reveal my real name rather than make up a fake one as I had always been taught to in a situation like this. "Anna. Anna Rose McStone." While I silently yelled at myself for being so stupid as I realised my mistake, the blonde continued her interrogation.

"Alright, Anna, tell me - why are you here?"

This one I felt it would be best to answer honestly. "No clue."

"...you don't know?"

"Well, no. I mean, the last thing I remember is eating cereal before going to school. Next thing I know, I'm tied to a chair in a prison cell."

"Really? An' just what do you suppose brought you to the middle of Kids Next Door headquarters?"

"Calm down, numbah 86."

"I have no clue. Maybe one of your gang members knocked me out and kidnapped me, but didn't tell you?"

"Gang members? What on Earth are you talking about?"

"Well, isn't that what this is? A gang?"

"Oy! This isn't just some bloody gang! It's a good an' proper War Base!"

My eyebrows flew up before crashing down in confusion and concern."War? What war? And why would a country endanger its children by involving them in a war?"

The red head rolled her eyes. "Pah! Countries. Borders are for adults, teenager."

My confusion only grew. The blonde seemed to notice, and looked me dead in the eye. Suddenly, I felt as if I were the child, and she was the teacher about to explain a difficult concept.

"This isn't just any war, Anna. We fight, not for a single country, but for the children of all the countries in the entire globe. Adults and teenagers like you see the world as divided, with weird politics and all that - but we don't. That's why we built our base on the moon -"

"Wait a minute - hold on here. Are you saying that I'm on the MOON?!"

"…yes…?"

"WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuuuuuuuuuudge?" I caught myself just in time. It was so hard to forget that these were kids, and that certain words simply shouldn't be said within the vicinity of children. The blonde gave me a strange, condescending look, as I shrunk in guilt. This was worse than when I showed my report card to my mother.

"…Okay… well, anyway, the point is, adults are horrible to us kids, so we're fighting back for the freedom that we deserve. Children shouldn't have to live in the fear or suppression that adults and teenagers like you put us under, so we fight back. That clear enough for you?"

"… yeah, I think I get it. But that sound more like a civil rights movement than a war."

"Oy! What're you blabbering on about, teenager?"

"Well, being a kid isn't exactly something you can control, is it? It's not something you can - or want to - change. But people discriminate against you for it anyway, and you're sick of that, so now you're rebelling. Sounds like a civil rights movement to me - just like the one with Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Or, if we want a more modern example, the LGBTQ movement."

"Actually, I think I read about that in school…"

"Oy! Numbah 362! Can I speak with you in private?"

The blonde nodded and rose to join her friend, leaving me alone in the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Hi. Anna here. I'm a teenager, and a prisoner to this children's civil rights group on the moon.

You might be wondering what happened after the two girls left me. Well, Cody and number 32 (whose name I found out was Jackquel thanks to a slip-up by Cody) came in and took me to a different, more spacious cell. To be honest, it looked like a guest room with bars on the window more than anything. It had a plain white floor with a colorful rug and a few bean bag chairs, and the walls were like the sky with fluffy white clouds. There was a mattress on the floor in the corner, with a colorful blanket thrown across it. There was also a small table, with a few small chairs around it - too small for me, so I kneeled in front of the table. And on the table… was that…?

Ohmygoshyes.

I squealed and hugged my art bag close to my chest. Then I looked inside… only to find my sketchbooks replaced with new ones.

Not that I was complaining, I mean, I needed new sketchbooks anyway, but what happened with the old ones?

I shrugged and opened one of them up to start drawing. I had so many new ideas…

…

Meanwhile, Fanny and Rachel (along with a select group of other agents) poured over the sketchbooks, trying to get inside the mind of their captive.

Or, at least, that was the PLAN.

"Ew! Are those two boys actually KISSING?"

"…okay, can somebody ELSE please read this diary? A GIRL, preferably? I think I'm gonna be scarred for LIFE…"

"Look at this! She's a WITCH! She's got a spell book and everything…"

"That's part of a STORY, you dolt! See, I have a picture of the character right here, name's Madeline…"

"Would you look at this family tree! It's so freaking COMPLICATED, I mean, how can a ROBOT have a DAUGHTER?"

"Oh my gosh, this alien is SO ADORABLE! Look at his big green eyes!"

"Did she MAKE this? It looks like it took her FOREVER…"

"…this is getting us nowhere."

"I know. I can't make heads or tails of any o' this."

"Well, one thing's for sure."

"She has an unhealthy obsession with cartoons?"

" Well, that too, but I was referring to the fact that she knew nothing about us, or the kids next door. And she likes kids too much to hurt any of us, if her stories are any indication."

"Eye, that's right. Half the darn things are 'bout us children."

"Hey, look at this story."

Everyone turned to look at the picture.

"Playing pretend? What's it about?"

"It's about a boy and a girl, who were best friends when they were little, but who have to fight each other when they grow up. You see, when they were kids, they'd play pretend that the boy was a supervillain and that the girl was a superhero, and when they grew up the boy became an evil scientist and the girl became a super spy, and they have to fight. But the boy and the girl still like each other, even though they try to hide it. Then the boy gets kidnapped by the queen of evil, who wants the boy to become the king of evil, and the girl saves him even though her boss says she's not allowed to. In the end, they get married and have kids, who have adventures of their own."

Everyone stayed silent for a while, absorbing this. Eventually, Rachel spoke up.

"I think we should try talking to her again."


	4. Chapter 4

The door to the prison opened, and Anna looked up from her drawing to see Rachel and Fanny standing near the door. She smiled.

"Hi. What's up?"

The blonde walked over and sat down in one of the chairs, the red-head following close behind. I put down my pencil and folded my hands in my lap, my head slightly tilted in curiosity.

"Anna, can you explain this story to us?" She slid a notebook in my direction, which I immediately recognized as my storybook. I picked it up and flipped through it.

"Which one?"

"Playing pretend."

" Oh, the one with Rita and James. Sure, but… what's there to explain? It's one of the ones I actually kinda FINISHED, so…"

"How about we start with the basics. What inspired you to write this?"

"My own childhood. I played pretend all the time, and my best friend was this boy who wanted to be an inventor. So…"

"What about the part when their adults?"

"Well, to be honest, that part was inspired by a lot of things. My parents, the stereotypical villain/hero relationship…"

"What interests me is ow' much they act like kids."

"Well, the way I see it, adults are just kids with more experience."

The room stayed silent for a few more moments while the two girls processed this new idea. Eventually, Anna went back to her drawing. Rachel stood up and walked around the table to look over Anna's shoulder.

"What's that?"

"Oh! It's just some scenery for my science fiction cartoon, Earth Girl & Space Boy."

"Looks an awful lot like the moon base. Only, with less two by four technology."

"Two by four technology? What's that?"

"That's confidential."

"Oh. Bummer."

"You know, you act a lot like a kid for a teenager."

"Just because I'm a teenager, doesn't mean I'm not still a kid. I have a lot to learn before I go out into the world on my own. I'm only fourteen, after all."

"That's… quite a perspective."

"Yeah. A lot of people don't want to admit that they can't take care of themselves alone."

"So… what's this Earth Girl and Space Boy thing about, anyways?"

"Okay, so imagine that you're stargazing, when all of a sudden, an alien spaceship crashes in your front yard. That's what happened to Katy … hold on, I'll sketch her for you …"

Anna turned the page and, in about 30 seconds, there was a picture of a little girl with tanned skin, long black hair, stylized pointy bangs, and a little black dress over a red T-shirt with a thick red belt with a large circular buckle smiling up from the page with her large amber-red eyes.

"There. See? That's Katy."

"Oy! How'd ya do that?"

"Do what?"

"Draw that there girl so quick?"

"Well, it's not that hard. Especially since I've drawn Katy, like, a thousand different times before."

"That's amazing. I saw your pictures, but I had no idea you did them so quickly."

"Well, I've been making art for, like, thirteen years. With that much practice, anyone would be good at it."

"Wait a minute. Can I see that first picture?"

Anna nodded curiously and turned the page back to the first drawing - the scenic art. Rachel examined it closely, a serious and calculating expression on her face that Anna found eerily familiar.

"Bearing a few minor alterations, I'd say that this looks almost exactly like that corridor we went down earlier. But you've only seen it once. How did you do that?"

"Well, the same way I draw my characters. I imagine what I want to draw, figure out the structure, and then just put it down. Really, the hardest part is finding a place to start."

"So you can take a picture in your mind and copy it down on paper?"

"Well, I wouldn't go that far. I don't have a photographic memory - I'm just really good at visualizing."

Rachel got up and started pacing. Fanny slowly stood up from her own seat, worried.

"Numbah 362? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, numbah 86. Just thinking."

"Why do you guys do that?"

Rachel stopped her pacing and scrutinized Anna.

"Do what?"

"Use numbers instead of names. I mean, you guys are friends, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, then doesn't it seem a little too formal to use numbers?"

"It's kids next door protocol."

"But Cody uses his real name."

"Because he's not used to standard procedure yet."

"Seems like a pretty weird rule for a group of kids to make up. I'd think you'd use super hero names or something. Numbers seem a little… I don't know, boring. And confusing. I mean, I know I can't keep track of all those numbers - I've been thinking of you two as blonde and red-head."

"Oy! You call me numbah 86, and no'tin' else! Got it, teenager?"

"Calm down, numbah 86. I can understand where she's coming from. Perhaps what we need is a proper introduction."

Rachel walked over to where Anna was kneeling, her face softening and her hand outstretched.

"Hi. I'm numbah 362, leader of the Kids Next Door. But you can call me Rachel. And this is Fanny, my associate."

"Oy! Don' tell er that!"

Anna took the outstretched hand, smiling and ignoring Fanny's red face.

"It's an honor to meet you, Rachel. You too, Fanny." She released the hand, and her face became contemplating. "You know, it's funny. I have an aunt named Rachel - AND she's married to a woman named Flannery."

"Oy! What are you suggesting?"

"Nothing, it's just a coincidence. Actually, their daughter Kelly is my best friend. She's kinda mischievous, but she knows how to get stuff done and she's a lot of fun to talk to. Her mother Flannery was the leader of my troop back when I was a girl scout, and she's really awesome - kinda rough, but she knows a lot of cool physical and outdoors-y stuff, even if she's a little mean to the guys who sometimes come to help out. And aunt Rachel's really smart and authoritative - but she's an attorney, so I suppose she'd have to be. And… and I'm ranting, aren't I? Sorry, I just tend to go on and on and… I'm doing it again. I'll shut up now."

"It's fine, Anna. To be honest, the fact that you're so open is kinda refreshing. I'd love to hear more."

"Really?"

"Sure, I-" beep "-hold that thought." Rachel flipped open a wooden cell phone and pressed it to her ear. "Numbah 362, kids next door leader. … uh huh … what? … again? … *sigh* sure, I'll get right on it. Just don't panic, all right? We don't need another noodles incident." She shut the phone closed with a beep, and turned towards Anna.

"I'm sorry, Anna, but duty calls. We should do this again sometime."

"Okay, Rachel. Oh, before you go, do you think you can tell Cody to bring me some food?"

"Sure. But, just to warn you, it's probably all going to be vegetables."

"Well, I'm vegetarian, so that's perfect."

Rachel left, leaving Anna with Fanny. Fanny leaned in close, a glare in her eyes.

"Ummm… hi?"

"Oh, don't you 'um, hi' ME! You might av' got numbah 362 fooled, but I ain't so easy ta convince. I know your type - pretendin' ta be so nice an' innocent, so you can butter us up real nice an' pretend ta be our friends before you turn right around an betray us. But ya can't fool me. I'm the head o' decommissioning, so I know that you can't ever … EVER … trust a teenager. Even if they aren't even a teenager yet. And you can hurt me, but know this - if you dare to even THINK bout' hurting Rachel, you WILL regret it. An' that's a promise … TEENAGER."

With that, she left the room, leaving behind a very confused teenage girl.


End file.
